Storrac I: Fugitive
by ThePeacer
Summary: When a mysterious and bad tempered fox moves into Bunnyburrow, most of the native inhabitants are inclined to leave him alone. But as more and more questions as to his personage arise, it soon becomes clear that there is more to Nicholas Storrac than anyone at first thought. Oddly enough, the fate of the village may ultimately rest in his paws . . .
1. Prologue

"Officer Fangmeyer, perp has turned off of 32nd and is heading toward the Sahara district by way of Sightseer's Drive. Move to intercept, I repeat, move to intercept."

Even as he was speaking, the female tiger kept her eyes on the large crimson van ahead of her, trying not to lose sight of it in the blizzard that surrounded them. So far in the car chase the suspect had managed to escape visual contact at least four times before nearly colliding with another cruiser; all it took was a moment, and he would be gone again. He was a good driver, if a stupid mammal for thinking he could evade the entire ZPD.

Unbeknownst to Fangmeyer, these exact thoughts were passing through the mind of mammal in question: _Dumb fox! Why didn't you just go by boat or something? There is no way you're going to make it out of this alive!_

But, though he was many things, Nicholas P. Wilde was not a quitter. More importantly, he had an expert knowledge of the streets of Zootopia, and the skills to make use of them.

Several squad cars were _just_ coming within site of the tunnel between Tundra Town and Sahara Square when the crimson van exited and began speeding toward the districts center. The few mammals using the road at such a late hour heard the sirens long before the chase was upon them, and made sure to pull aside to let the police cruisers pass. This did, however, made it equally easier for the wanted fox to keep ahead of his pursuers. As the van entered the freeway, more and more officers arrived in their vehicles, trying to surround and cut off their target. But the fox was not afraid to take risks, and continued to lead the chase into the Downtown area.

Exiting the freeway, Nick swerved the van in a tight U-turn so as to heading South, toward Savana Central. _So the bridges are barricaded_ , he thought to himself. _Okay, then; I'll just have to make it to the subway station._

His attempt to quickly calculate and follow the route of best ratio to time and safety, he found himself speedily passing between the Natural History Museum and the ZPD headquarters itself. He couldn't help but think how ironic it was that he would pass so close to his two most hated placed in Zootopia on his way out, and how he would have laughed . . . _if I only_ could _!_

Finally, he pulled out into the open area in front of Grand Central Station; without hesitation, he plowed down into the underground area, scattering unsuspecting bystanders in his mad rush to escape the city. Seeing the train pulling away brought a sense of relief, if not calm, to his mind— _Good; at least I don't have to worry about that._ Speeding up, he pulled the van alongside the tracks . . .

. . . and joltingly slid the vehicle onto them.

He could already tell that this was a mistake; it would be a challenge to keep the van on the tracked for the whole length at a normal speed, and he couldn't afford to go slow. For a moment, he considered giving up; he was out of options, and perhaps he would have a chance to set things straight before they . . .

 _She'd see you. You'd have to see her again; that_ look _again . . ._

Clenching his jaw, the fox pressed his footpaw against the accelerator and sped down the track.

Somehow, he almost made it; his heightened senses gave him a greater control over the vehicle, allowing him to make it all the way through the various districts again and almost to the bridge. But somewhere along the line, his pursuers had figured out what he was doing. There were there, at the head of the bridge, waiting for him. They'd even managed to get concrete beam put it place to prevent him from speeding past. Even if the van had been in top condition (and Nick _knew_ it wasn't; not if he knew his friend), it wouldn't have stood a chance. The car chase was over; Finnick's van had lost.

But Nick wasn't a quitter.

Taking the suitcase from the seat next to him, Nick dropped onto the accelerator and leapt into the back of the van.

The officers standing in front of the barrier at first watched the approach of the oncoming vehicle with grim expressions. But these quickly changed to looks of confusion, then of shock, then of _horror_ when the van, instead of slowing down, _sped up_! They barely managed to leap aside as the vehicle smashed into the concrete at full speed, its back-end flying upward as the entire vehicle overturned, toppled onto the bridge, and fell off into the water below.

In the confusion that followed, no one noticed the figure which had leaped out of the back of the van as it toppled, which now quickly made its way along the bridge, hidden by the dark.

* * *

Several hours later, the fox found a secluded spot in the woods in which to spend the rest of the night. Lying down in a patch of grass, the fox stared up at the night sky, his emotionless expression hiding the turmoil taking place within.

 _It's over; you made it out alive, but now what? You can't go anywhere. They'll find you._ She _will find you. Nowhere is safe. Not for Nicholas Wilde._

For a while, the fox's thoughts settled down. He continued to stare up at the stars as he contemplated his last thought.

 _No,_ he finally decided. Getting up, he starred hard above him, a fire of fury in his eyes. _Not for Nicholas Wilde. But Nicholas Wild is dead. And_ I _will survive._

* * *

 **I can't guarantee I'll be able to finish this in a timely manner, but I've had the idea on my mind for a while now and I felt it would be good to get it on here. Just so everyone knows, there's supposed to be four entries in the Storrac series, all of them rather short (I can't imagine more anything not under ten chapters), and each told in such a way that the _whole_ story isn't really known until the end. Anyway, let me know what you think, and . . . well, technically it's me, but since I always say it:**

 **Keep up the good work!**


	2. Chapter 1 - A New Face

**Hey, everybody! First of all, I want to thank my three encouraging reviewers for . . . well, for their encouraging reviews! Then I want to thank everyone who's back for the first chapter (first post was basically a prologue) for . . . oh, you get the idea.**

 **Finally, I want to start the story! But because I forgot the disclaimer in the prologue, I've got to get that in first.**

 **Disclaimer: For those who intend to dis me, be aware I will lay full claim to said dissing and take it as a compliment that you felt it important enough to inform me that you were aware of my existence!**

 **. . .**

 **Oh, and I'm not Bob Iger!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 **A New Face**

" _Nick? Nick?"_

 _Contrary to his internal urges, the fox in question remained silent. It didn't matter._

" _Oh, Nick!"_

 _So much for hiding._

"' _Night Howlers' aren't wolves; they're toxic flowers!"_

 _That's it?_ That's _how she opens the conversation? Dumb bunny . . ._

" _I think someone's targeting predators on purpose and_ making _them go savage."_

 _She isn't sorry at all! After all the regret I've been going through since our last meeting . . ._

" _Wow. Isn't that interesting."_

 _Silence; I've taken her off guard. She wasn't expecting that kind of a response. And here I was hoping for so much! Maybe_ I'm _the dumb one . . ._

" _Wait, wait listen, I . . . I_ know _you'll never forgive me, and I don't blame you;_ I _wouldn't forgive me, either."_

 _Really heartfelt there, officer._

" _I was ignorant, and . . . irresponsible, and . . . small-minded. But predators shouldn't suffer because of my mistakes."_

 _Well, at least her heart's in the right place._

" _I have to fix this; but I can't do it without you . . ."_

 _And here I thought bunnies were emotional . . ._

" _. . . and . . . and after we're done . . ."_

 _Oh! Oh, wait for it!_

" _. . . you can hate me . . . a-and that'll be fine . . ."_

 _Where's that pen?_

" _. . . because I was a horrible friend, and I hurt you, and, and you can walk away, knowing, that you were right, all along;"_

 _I knew she cared!_

" _. . . I really_ am _just a_ dumb bunny _!"_

 _Wait a moment; let her stew in it. Then . . ._

"I really _am_ just a _dumb bunny_! _"_

 _Revenge is sweet!_

"I really _am_ just a _dumb bunny_! _"_

 _But not as sweet as she is._

" _Don't worry, Carrots."_

 _Wait a minute, where did_ that _come from?!_

" _I'll let you erase it . . . in 48 hours."_

* * *

By the next day, _everyone_ in BunnyBurrows had heard the news.

A new face in town . . .

A _fox_ face in town . . .

He had appeared in the Burrows with nothing but the clothing on his back – green Hawaiian shirt, brown slacks, loud tie – and had begun looking for a place to stay.

Not like a hotel room or apartment . . .

A _permanent_ place to stay . . .

He'd bought Old Farmer Lapy's shed and the acre of land it sat on. Old Lapy was too old to tend the land anymore, and the shed was barely standing as it was.

Not that he'd _offered_ it.

The fox _requested_ the overgrown patch and rickety building. Said he was looking for quiet . . .

Keyword: "Said . . ."

For a while, no one was willing to approach the shack to welcome the newcomer. After all, when you come from nowhere, with nothing, _request_ a "dump" (these were Old Lapy's words), and immediately move in, all with the most solemn expression anyone in the Burrows had ever seen, people tended to think you might be a recluse.

And of course, he _was_ a fox . . .

Which reasoning was partly why it was Gideon Grey who finally decided to breach the gap and welcome the newcomer. Being a fox himself, Gideon was aware of the discrimination that the mysterious vulpine could come into contact with, and wished for his first real introduction to the area to be positive. Thus at two-thirty in the afternoon, he found himself standing in front of a decaying might-have-been-red-once building that looked like it would pass for an elephant's outhouse. In his paws was a blueberry pie, which his wife had jokingly referred to as "a peace offering," but which, in proximity of the shack, seemed more like a charity donation. After taking a quick swallow to calm his nerves, the pastry chef finally worked up the courage to raise his paw toward the door.

But before he could knock, the door swung open, surprising Gideon into almost dropping the pie. He found himself gazing into a pair of hard eyes, emerald green in color, framed by a red furred face, drawn-down brows and a sullen expression. Though the thinner fox looked none the worse for wear, Gideon couldn't help but feel an aura of tenseness, as though the newcomer hadn't slept in the past week.

The two just stared at each other for a moment while Gideon regained his composure. Finally, the plump baker managed to give a wide grin, and he stuck out his paw in greeting.

"Howdy!" he drawled in a friendly tone. "Ma name's Gideon Grey, I own a pastry shop in the down-town area, and I thought ya might like a nice pie fer yer table tanight!"

The stranger looked at Gideon a moment longer before staring down at the outstretched paw. He blinked. Slowly, he began to extend a shaky paw in return.

 _Maybe 'ee's just shy_ , Gideon thought.

The stranger's paw finally made it to Gideon's, and clasped it in a grip of iron. Gideon had to clench his jaw to keep from giving an exclamation of pain. As it was, a grimace passed across his face, causing the other fox to withdraw his paw almost instantly.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

It was the first word he had spoken since opening the door.

Gideon stood there, waiting for the stranger to continue. Just when the silence had gotten long enough to be awkward, the other fox seemed to give a jerk, and once again looked at Gideon as if only just realizing his presence.

"Sorry," he said again, and reached out to take the pie. "Thank you very much."

"So," he continued in a monotone "I'm not the first fox in BunnyBurrows."

It was a statement. But as the fox didn't move to bid farewell as expected, Gideon felt inclined to answer.

"Oh no, there's been fox's here fer a while. I was born an' raised here, in fact, n' so was ma wife, Steph'nie." Then, almost apologetically, he added "There's still a bit a prejudice 'round about, but it ain't nearly s'bad as it used ta be. I'm sure ya'll fit in jest fine!"

The stranger only nodded, adding a mumbled "Yea," while he seemed to consider the information. Then, as an afterthought, "Do you know what the local post office hours are?"

Somehow, the initial feeling of tension had morphed into a feeling of nervousness for Gideon during the course of the conversation. There was something about this fox that seemed . . . off. The lack of emotion, the zoning out, the sudden and inexplicable changes of topic; it all added up to making the fox in front of him seem different . . . almost dangerous.

 _Now, now, you've got no right to be thinking that way; you don't even know him yet!_

Shaking his head of the thoughts, Gideon answered "Well, I believe they're from about ten ta four, though they might close a bit earlier on the weekends. Does that help?"

"Yes, thank you very much, Mister . . . Grey, was it? I'm sure I'll enjoy the pie."

He began to close the door at this point, but was halted by a quick inquiry from the baker: "Oh, yer more 'an welcome, sir. Might I ask what your name is?"

The fox starred at Gideon for so long that the pastry chef began think he wouldn't answer. Finally, though, he gave one last quiet mumble – "Storrac; Nicholas Storrac." – before closing the door all the way.

* * *

 **For me, the hardest part of this chapter was choosing the perspective from which to tell it. But at that time, I was going to be going into detail on Nick's initial entry into BunnyBurrows, and the process by which he located a home. I probably would have had the chapter from Stu Hopp's POV, and the whole thing would have been longer. In the end though, I decided a friendly welcome visit might be a better way to get the story going, at once I'd decided that it was obvious who would be acting opposite Nick.**

 **So, how'd I do? To all you readers and writers out there, work on arithmetic!**

 **. . .**

 **Sorry, couldn't resist.**

 **Keep up the good work!**


End file.
